


Diabolus Ex Machina

by Eida



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Pre-Canon, The Bite of '87
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-16
Updated: 2014-12-16
Packaged: 2018-03-01 17:42:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2781881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eida/pseuds/Eida
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even though their new animatronic friends did their very best to make them feel happy and safe, the children knew that the man who hurt them was going to come back one day.</p><p>Then one of them figured out how to make him go away again.</p><p>(AU - not compliant with Five Nights at Freddy's 2.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Diabolus Ex Machina

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fairy_Flies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fairy_Flies/gifts).



1\. Freddy

Two of the larger humans had their arms around the birthday child. They were all smiling while a third of the larger humans pointed a camera towards them.

Freddy had been programmed to understand a smile--the two edgepoints of the mouth being pulled up, sometimes with the teeth displayed--as being a sign of happiness, and therefore a confirmation that Freddy was fulfilling his prime directive.

Lanna had taught him differently.

 _Grownups always make you smile for pictures,_ she had explained, once, on the tenth day after she'd been joined with him. _They get mad if you don't._

 _You don't ever have to smile for me,_ Freddy had told her. _I only want you to smile when you're really happy. If you're not, I want to know, so I can fix it._

Of course, she couldn't really smile anymore. But she became unhappy whenever she was reminded of it, and Freddy would never want to make her unhappy. He never wanted any child to be unhappy--he'd been built to bring happiness to children, and that directive shaped every line of code in his system--but Lanna was particularly special.

She was his closest friend, a child who would never leave him, and would never ever grow up. One of the larger humans, the "grownups," had hurt her very badly, and somehow--Freddy didn't know how--despite the fact that her body was damaged to the point that it could no longer function, her mind remained.

He did his best to make her happy. He played all her favorite songs, whenever she asked--not always with audio output; she seemed to be able to "hear" them, even when he didn't engage his speakers--he told her stories, even making up new ones, just for her; and he always made sure she knew that he loved her very much, because she was part of the Freddy Fazbear family now.

Just like the other children.

He, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy all had a special friend to take care of, and they all did the very best they could.

Sometimes it wasn't enough.

Sometimes Lanna wouldn't want to talk to him for hours, and no songs or stories seemed to help.

But those times were getting rarer over time. Lanna hadn't mentioned missing her parents in almost a week, now.

Right now, Freddy could tell that she was happy. He was happy, too, because it was almost time for the show to start.

It was somebody's birthday, and it was his job to make sure that lucky child had a very happy birthday indeed.

 

2\. Bonnie

"And the very best part of birthdays is  
spending time with your friends!"

 _That doesn't rhyme,_ Zack pointed out, not for the first time, as Bonnie finished the second song scheduled for the party.

 _It's the way the song goes,_ Bonnie replied, also not for the first time. He wished he didn't have to sing that particular song--it seemed to irritate Zack.

But it was what Bonnie was programmed to do, and he couldn't escape it.

Of course, the song made a lot of children happy, and made only one annoyed (at least so far as Bonnie knew). Did the opinions of the many outweigh the one?

Bonnie wasn't sure.

Not so long ago, the issue simply wouldn't have come up. He had been programmed to follow certain procedures--sing this song at this specific time; make this series of movements afterwards--and never thought about why.

He hadn't had much of a mind to think with, before.

It had all started with Zack.

Bonnie had, in his memory banks, a recording of a certain incident. There'd been an unusual weight inside his exoskeleton, and all of a sudden, he'd formulated a logic chain:

_Entity: Bonnie exists._  
 _The entity which is currently processing this information is Bonnie._  
 _This entity is myself._  
 _I am Bonnie._  
 _I exist._

And from there, something had clicked, and Bonnie became more than just a series of procedures to be followed mechanically.

It had been a great surprise to realize that he was no longer alone in his mind. Not a happy one, at first; Zack had been terribly upset. It had taken a long time for him to calm down enough to talk.

Once the initial shock of Zack's original endoskeleton's malfunction had passed, Zack had helped explain a lot of things that Bonnie had never stopped to consider were strange, until recently. Such as: why were some humans large, and some small?

Apparently, they were all manufactured, by a process neither Bonnie nor Zack were entirely clear about, at a very small size, and by some method made themselves larger, until they were the proper size.

Humans were strange.

Apparently, even when their endoskeletons ceased to function, their memory banks remained. Or at least, might remain, in some cases. Zack didn't know much on the topic.

Bonnie didn't know how, but Zack--and the other children--had somehow gotten their memories transferred into the four animatronics' memory banks, and since then, the animatronics each emulated two personalities, rather than one.

Or at least that was Bonnie's understanding of it. Zack didn't seem to think of it in those terms.

He finished up his song, with no further complaints from Zack. It was time for him and Chica to head backstage; Freddy had a solo performance next.

He sent a quick signal to the other three animatronics-- _All is well. Functioning properly._

In response, he got two _All is well_ responses back, and one _Function at acceptable levels. Maintenance required soon_ from Chica.

He sent back an _Acknowledged_ to all four, with an extra message for Chica: _Your child's condition?_

 _Requires maintenance,_ Chica replied. Bonnie sent back another _Acknowledged. Ready to render aid if requested._

It wasn't surprising; Chica's child's moods seemed to fluctuate more frequently than those of the other three children.

But he doubted there was anything he could do about it just now, so he turned his attention back to Zack while the two waited for Freddy's to complete his solo.

_So, if you were going to write your very own birthday song, what would it be?_

 

3\. Chica

_I'm hungry._

A familiar sense of helplessness came over Chica, but she couldn't let Cal know. It wouldn't be fair to him--at least, so far as she understood fairness. The concept was fairly new to her.

The world hadn't been fair to Cal. He was so very small, smaller than any of the other children who'd come to stay. He'd been just four-and-a-half years old.

That was how he put it, anyways; when he'd told her his birthday, Chica had calculated that he was really fifty-five months and eight days old. But it didn't really matter. He said he was four-and-a-half; it wouldn't make him any happier if she corrected him.

 _Okay, sweetie,_ she said. _We'll go get something to eat as soon as everybody leaves._

 _But I'm hungry now!_ Cal protested.

He wasn't really hungry, not the way most of the children were. They had bodies which required food to fuel them, but Cal's body had long since ceased to function. Chica didn't know what power source he used now--her endoskeleton's power usage wasn't up, so he wasn't siphoning off her electricity.

But she was quite certain it wasn't food. Her endoskeleton was incapable of metabolizing human food into energy.

Still, Cal wanted to eat, and sometimes it made him a little happier, so almost every night Chica made her way to the kitchens and did her best to eat the leftover pizza, even though it sometimes got stains on her outer suit and gunk in her endoskeleton.

The most important thing was keeping Cal happy.

 _Hey, Cal,_ she said, hoping to distract him. _We get to play more of our special birthday songs very soon. You like birthday songs._

 _I want it to be my birthday,_ Cal replied.

 _How old will you be on your next birthday?_ Chica asked.

_Five! That's old enough to--_

Old enough to go to school, Chica thought. He'd mentioned it before, and the topic upset him.

Realizing she'd made a grave mistake, and tried to redirect his attention.

_Five! That's such a great number. How many is two fives?_

_Two fives? Um. Five plus five is ten,_ Cal answered.

 _You're so smart! You're just like a Cal-culator!_ Chica was very proud of the pun; she'd come up with it herself, and it had made Cal laugh before.

 _I wanna go to school!_ Cal cried, his childish anguish surging through Chica's circuits.

_Okay, calm down, sweetheart..._

Freddy's solo performance was over, and it was about time for Bonnie and Chica to go back onstage for their next song.

 _Look! It's time for "Let's Get Ready For Fun"!_ said Chica, as brightly as she could, stepping out onto the stage.

But Cal wasn't in a singing mood. _Wanna go to school. Like my big brother..._

Chica wished she could take him there. But she couldn't leave the pizzeria, or speak with anyone besides Cal and the other animatronics.

As much as she cared for Cal, she'd gladly give up his company if it meant he could be a normal little boy again, growing up and going to school and eating pizza and making friends with the other children.

But that was impossible, now.

Chica waved to the waiting crowd, imitating a cheerfulness that she didn't feel at all.

 

4\. Foxy

 _I don't want to go out there,_ said Eunice. _What if he's out there?_

Foxy didn't have to ask who she meant. _Don't worry, me hearty! You're safe as houses, with Cap'n Foxy to watch yer back! If that knave dares show his face, he'll know my wrath!_

It wasn't a bad little speech, Foxy thought. But he knew that he couldn't really do much in the way of demonstrating his "wrath." His programming didn't allow him to knowingly cause harm to a human.

But Eunice should be safe. As safe as he was, at any rate, and nobody had attacked him, so far. A few children had torn his outer suit before, but that didn't really harm _him_ , since he could just put on a new suit.

 _You won't be able to tell,_ Eunice said, sounding upset. _He wears disguises. He can make himself look like something he's not. Like Freddy, or a security man._

She'd shown Foxy her memories of the event that had led to her current state. There'd been someone in a Freddy Fazbear suit. When he'd cornered Eunice, he'd taken part of the suit off, and the man inside had been wearing a security guard's uniform.

_Freddy is good. Security men are good, or at least I thought they were. But the man was bad. I don't want him to come back. He hurt me, Foxy. He hurt me so much._

_I know, kipper. But he won't hurt you ever again, not with good ol' Foxy on the watch. Now, we're going to go onstage and show everyone we're the bravest pirates on the Seven Seas!_

Just then, Freddy sent the signal: _Ready. Begin routine._

 _C'mon, it's time for your favorite part!_ Foxy coaxed. _One... two..._

He crouched, then sprang into action, running onto the stage.

This was his favorite part, too--the look of happy surprise on the faces of the party guests brought him the sense of satisfaction that could only come from fulfilling one's designated purpose.

He played the appropriate vocal tracks, waving his hook-hand around. "Arrr! Did these ears o' mine hear you sayin' something about pizza?"

"Oh, no!" Freddy replied. "It's Foxy the Pirate! Terror of the seven seas, and reknowned pizza thief!"

The routine went on from there, with Foxy promising not to steal the party guests' pizza, provided the guests would all sing his favorite sea shanty with him.

This was another fun part--he'd get down off the stage, and walk around the tables--sometimes the children would get up and dance around him.

 _Foxy, I don't want to go out there,_ said Eunice. _He's out there. I know he is. I can feel him watching me. I don't like it._

The last thing Foxy wanted to do was make Eunice unhappy--but he didn't really have a choice. The routine had been programmed in, and Foxy wasn't able to change it.

_Hey, now, lassie. It'll be fine. Didn't I tell you? I'm Cap'n Foxy, the scurviest rogue to ever sail the seven seas. No villain wants to cross me, or I'll make him walk the plank!_

Eunice went silent, though Foxy could tell she wasn't satisfied.

Feeling helpless, Foxy made his way down off the stage, leading the crowd in his song.

"And a yo-ho-ho  
and away we go  
it's a party on the sea!"

 _It's him!_ cried Eunice.

 _Where?_ Foxy asked.

_That man, the one right there--he's in disguise again, but it's him, I know it's him. Make him stop looking at me!_

Foxy looked. There didn't seem to be anything particularly notable about that man. He didn't _look_ like a bad person, but Foxy didn't really know what bad people were supposed to look like.

 _Bite him, Foxy!_ Eunice cried. _Bite him for me!_

 _Now, now, we can't be biting people if we aren't absolutely--_ Foxy began, before his servos suddenly locked.

 _I won't let you hurt me ever again!_ Eunice screamed, and Foxy felt his jaws open wide, without any input on his part. 

His head dove forward, and his teeth ground against the man's endoskeleton, and he heard screams. 

_He'll never hurt me again,_ said Eunice. _Never ever ever._

And Foxy couldn't help but feel satisfaction, knowing that his charge felt better now. 

Said satisfaction was short-lived when he saw that the other children--the party guests--looked profoundly unhappy. The sound of crying and screaming echoed through the restaurant. 

_Initiating emergency shutdown,_ came a command from somewhere outside of Foxy, and Foxy felt his body go still before his awareness blacked out. 

5\. Ghosts in the Machinery 

Eunice was very clever to figure it out, the children thought. 

Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy were all very good friends, but there were things that they couldn't do. They had big strong bodies, but they didn't seem to be able to use them to make the man who hurt the children go away. 

The animatronics didn't seem to be able to tell when the bad man was there. But that was okay. The children knew. 

The bad man would keep coming back, they knew. That was the way monsters were. You couldn't really make them go away forever. But now they knew how to make him leave for a little while. 

They could hurt him, just like he hurt them. 

Their mechanical friends could lend the children their metal bodies--their powerful arms, their gnashing teeth--and the children would do what needed to be done. 

Some of the adults seemed to be on the bad man's side, or maybe they were him, in disguise--they put Foxy and Eunice away, and wouldn't let them back on stage, and they wouldn't let any of the others go into the audience any longer. 

But at night, all of them were free. 

At night, the game began. Each of them would do their very best to get to the man in the security office. They'd peek in first, just to check, but they always realized that it wasn't a real security man in the end--it was the bad man wearing a disguise again. 

But they knew how to tell the man that they knew what he was. They would put him right back in a Freddy costume, like the one he'd used to trick them. 

But things were much different from the first time they'd met the bad man. They weren't small and weak and scared any longer. Now they were big, and strong, and nothing could hurt them. 

They'd lost track of how many nights they'd spent, playing their new game of hunt-the-bad-guy. Sometimes he managed to keep them out for a while, but they were fast, and strong, and clever. They knew they'd always get him in the end. 

_It's almost time, Freddy!_

 _Let's go, Bonnie!_

 _

Let's make him go away, Chica! 

Keep an eye out, Foxy! 

He's gotten good at hiding, but we're so much better. This time, we're going to show him that he can't hurt us any longer. 

This time, we're going to win.

_


End file.
